Sheltering Angel
Buy the Book:Black Rose Writing
Published by: Black Rose Writing
Release Date: July 27, 2023
Synopsis
Sheltering Angel tells the fictionalized true story of Florence Cumings, an upper-class New Yorker, and working-class ship’s steward Andrew Cunningham who lead parallel lives until through a mystical connection they help each other survive the worst tragedy in maritime history. In New York, Florence devotes her life to helping the poor while Andrew waits on wealthy cruise line passengers. When Florence and her husband Bradley board Titanic after a European trip, they discover an ancient Scottish alliance with their steward. From a lifeboat, Florence watches the ship founder, her husband still aboard. At the last minute, Andrew leaps into the frigid water and swims to Florence’s lifeboat, ultimately the one soul who understands the depth of her grief.
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Praise
"In Sheltering Angel, Bryant’s passionate storytelling will captivate readers and bring a fresh perspective on a maritime tragedy that still reverberates in the twenty-first century."
—Jacquelyn Lenox Tuxill, author of Whispers from the Valley of the Yak: A Memoir of Coming Full Circle
"This wonderful tale of an unlikely friendship between two people from worlds a galaxy apart is not just a good read. It’s a beautifully told and poignant backstory to a piece of history we all know."
—Sylvester Monroe, co-author of Brothers: Black and Poor—A True Story of Courage and Survival
"Sheltering Angel tells the true story of several lesser-known individuals, whose lives were impacted by the Titanic disaster, helping to preserve their memory. The stories of Cumings, Cunningham, Siebert and the others are engrossing, and Bryant's passion for the source material shines through on every page."
— Tad Fitch, author of On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of RMS Titanic
Excerpt
The morning Andrew was to report to Titanic, he rose early at the house on Charlton Road and got his things ready. When he had packed his duffel, he bent to look into his son’s face.
“You’re ten now, laddie. You’ll have to be the man of the house ‘til I get back. Will you do that?”
“I will,” Sandy said. “But what about the sunbeam and the angel?”
Andrew had taught him an old Scottish blessing when he was starting to talk, and he was surprised his son remembered it now.
“A sunbeam to warm you,” Andrew said.
“A moonbeam to charm you,” Sandy added.
“A sheltering angel—”
Sandy’s face took on a sweet expression. “So nothing can harm you.”
Andrew hugged him. “I’m going to take the sunbeam and the moonbeam. I’ll leave the sheltering angel with you and your sister.”
“No, Dad,” he said. “I’ve got Mama. You take the angel.”
What a sweet boy he was. Andrew looked at him, memorizing his every aspect—the coppery hair curling at the ends and in need of a cutting, freckles on his nose, teeth too large for his narrow face, a hand shading his eyes from rare April sunlight. But there was also a glee the boy seemed barely able to contain, as if it would erupt from him any moment in volcanic peals of delight. And yet, he was growing so fast, worrying about his father’s safety—even more than Andrew worried about his own. Did his son realize his father was getting on a ship that would hover above thousands of fathoms of water, a ship that might at any moment fall to the mercy of the sea?
“Aye, your mother is indeed an angel,” he told Sandy. “Very well then, I’ll take your sheltering angel.”
Before he left, he planted tender kisses, one on each of the people he cherished most in the world.
